6 | MAY 2020
News
Read online at www.proinstaller.co.uk
INDUSTRY RESEARCH SHEDS LIGHT ON
IRONMONGERY BUDGET ESTIMATES
New research shows that some types of buildings can incur
up to 19% of their total maintenance budget on architectural
ironmongery despite the average spend on this being
between one and two percent of the value of a new-build.
The research from the
Guild of Architectural
Ironmongers (GAI) has an-
alysed what proportion of
a project’s overall cost and
ongoing maintenance is
attributed to door hardware
such as handles, locks,
hinges, door closers and
other essential ironmon-
gery.
Similar research conduct-
ed in the early 1980s by the
Property Service Agency
(PSA), a former agency of
the UK Government, con-
cluded that ironmongery
was worth one percent of
project value but accounted
for 80% of the value of the
maintenance budget.
Douglas Masterson, tech-
nical manager of the GAI,
said: “As a proportion of a
project’s value, the budget
needed for specifying
architectural ironmongery
has increased over the last
40 years, most likely in
response to increasingly
robust standards for safety,
accessibility and other
improvements in the built
environment, advances in
technology such as access
control products, and the
quality of products them-
selves. The value can now
be up to 5.84% of a project
value, depending on the
sector.
“Maintenance regimes
have also moved on signifi-
cantly since the 1980s. New
building elements such
as heating and ventilation
systems, air conditioning
systems and IT networks
are now a higher percent-
age of annual maintenance
costs. The demands of
increased health and safety
regulations and an increase
to the UK minimum wage
has also impacted on costs.
Repairing or replacing door
hardware can still be time
consuming and now we
also understand its budget
implications too – for some
building types such as
educational establishments
it can be as much as 30%
per year.This research
underlines the financial sig-
nificance of making better
choices about the architec-
tural ironmongery in our
buildings.”
The research was con-
ducted on behalf of the
GAI by AMA Research. The
research project increased
its scope from the original
PSA research to include
private offices; public sector
offices; retail; hotels; health;
education and transport
facilities such as airports
and railway stations. It also
looked at both mechanical
and electrical hardware to
reflect current usage of ar-
chitectural ironmongery in
these types of buildings.
The first part used data
from Barbour ABI, AMA
Research’s own library of
reports which was supple-
mented with a series of
interviews with architec-
tural ironmongers, manu-
facturers, distributors and
installers of ironmongery.
The second stage of the
research involved facilities
management organisations,
door maintenance com-
panies and certified UK
installers.
www.gai.org.uk
THE INVISIBLE KILLER
UKATA lends its support to Mates in Mind to help it reach 75% of construction workers by 2025
The UK Asbestos Training
Association (UKATA) has pledged
its support to Mates in Mind,
a charity committed to raising
awareness, addressing the stigma
of poor mental health and pro-
moting positive mental wellbeing
across workplaces.
By partnering with UKATA,
Mates in Mind hopes to reach
even more self-employed con-
struction workers, helping it
achieve its target of reaching 75%
of the construction industry by
2025.
Craig Evans, UKATA Chief
Operating Officer explained: “It
made absolute sense for UKATA
to support Mates in Mind and
we are delighted to be involved.
Asbestos and mental health are
both invisible killers but the risk
of both can be managed through
raising awareness.
“Through our member net-
work of trainers, we will actively
encourage conversations in the
workplace about mental health –
opening up opportunities for em-
ployees and employers to access
support and information where
its required.”
Research suggests that around
350,000 people in the UK con-
struction industry (1 in 6 work-
ers) are experiencing depression,
anxiety or stress. A 2017 ONS
study found that, in England, the
risk of suicide among low-skilled
male labourers, particularly those
working in construction roles,
was three times higher than the
male national average.
Thousands of workers in con-
struction and associated indus-
tries throughout the UK under-
take UKATA approved asbestos
awareness training every year.
UKATA now joins fellow Support-
ers Mineral Products Association,
Balfour Beatty, Galliford Try,
Tideway and Tarmac who, to-
gether, are committed to driving
change across the industry by
engaging with their customers,
members and colleagues by re-
inforcing the importance of well-
being, and how they can address
this within their organisations.
Recheal Valderama, Support
Manager for Mates in Mind, said:
“UKATA will play an instrumental
role in reaching out to organi-
sations who want and need to
address mental health within
their own business and the wider
industry. By working together, we
will better understand the needs
of the asbestos removal industry
and ensure they are supported
when they are ready.
“We are doing this by working
collaboratively with organisa-
tions. We learn to understand
their needs, to then evaluate and
prioritise any gaps and tailor a
programme that fits the needs of
the organisation and their people.
We provide ongoing support
throughout their journey and pro-
vide the clarity and confidence
to understand what they want to
achieve and how to do this, as
well as reassurance that they are
benchmarking to best practice.
“Through our member net-
work of trainers, we will actively
encourage conversations in the
workplace about mental health –
opening up opportunities for em-
ployees and employers to access
support and information where
its required.”
www.MatesinMind.org
www.ukata.org.uk